Campus Web Coordinator (CWC) Initiative
By Greg Rodríguez

Thinking of relocating to another city? Before I considered moving across the state I first consulted the Web for information on the school district my children would be attending. I was able to find out the names and autobiographical profiles of my children’s prospective teachers with the click of a mouse. Better yet, I was able to access the Academic Excellence Indicator Reports (AEIS) via their website. It was with this information that I helped formulate my decision to stay in San Antonio.

The implications of a school’s web presence quickly became evident to me as I compared schools hundreds of miles away using only my web browser. As Nancy McCluskey-Moore states in her article, “Untangling Content Management Systems”:

Web sites are an integral part of an organization's operations. No longer relegated to the role of electronic billboards, sites are used to actively promote companies and products, deliver services and information, manage transactions, and facilitate communications. Changes must occur quickly - daily, hourly, or even minute-by-minute.

Schools must soon come to the realization that they, just as the organizations McCluskey-Moore describes, too can no longer simply provide “electronic billboards.” Instead, schools must actively update the content of their websites to provide timely, accurate, service-oriented information to parents, teachers, and the community. The Campus Web Coordinator Initiative in San Antonio ISD aims to meet the goals McCluskey sets for organizations.

The Campus Web Coordinator initiative provides schools with an easy efficient method to update web content on their websites. Intensive training on tools like Macromedia’s Dreamweaver and specialized knowledge is no longer required to update content on a school’s website. William Gollihar, Campus Web Coordinator from Graebner ES writes:

I really enjoy working with the Content Management System. It makes changing and updating our website a breeze. It also makes the website become more of a living, breathing document that can change as easily as the seasons. I like the format and the ease of use and adding pictures and information is simple and is easily reviewed. It is not such a cumbersome task as it had been with Dreamweaver, or even FrontPage. I also like the fact that it is web-based and can be updated on the spot- anywhere I have Internet access. I would highly recommend every school make the switch to CMS- it has truly made our website something to be proud of...

The Office of Instructional Technology has provided campuses with a free, open-source alternative to content management. Over 44 SAISD campuses have participated in training and management of the new content management system. Participating campuses have an updated, sleek design to facilitate the communication of campus information to parents, teachers, and the community.

Campuses interested in participating in the Campus Web Coordinators initiative should contact Tonya Mills (tmills@saisd.net) in the Office of Instructional Technology (527-1400). Examples of schools currently using the content management system can be found at http://itls.saisd.net/webmaster/cwc/cms_pages.htm.

"It's as if there's a layer of conversation lying on top of the regular web," shared David Warlick at the TechForum Tx that took place on November 10, 2005. At the same time, he introduced the concept of a personal learning network. Facilitated by blogs and RSS Feeds, the purpose of the PLN is professional development within your area of interest. This idea of building your own professional development network--where you find who you can learn from, ask questions of them, comment on their thoughts and links, and have them do the same for you--is one of the major benefits of blogging and podcasting. It is the art of conversation captured in digital format.
Digital conversations are taking place in the blogosphere...but are you a participant? I recently asked technology directors on the Technology Education Coordinators' Special Interest Group email list (TEC-SIG) if they were having the types of conversations that others were having. I was struggling with the use of blogs in education, and I wanted other Texas Ed-Tech directors to discuss it with me. Email lists are no longer part of the “inner circle” where the best conversations take place. Instead, those conversations are taking place in spaces like Blogger.com, Edublogs, MySpace.com, and the millions of blogs available on the Web and the comments people leave on them. As the masses of India and China find their own voices online, build their own personal learning networks drawing upon many more people than we have access to in the United States, know that isolationism just will not work, either for you, your children or your students.

If you choose to be a part of the conversation, you can learn, contribute and perhaps, learn as others learn. And, learning with others makes the difference since learning is a social process...and has now gone online with blogs. Learning with others means you take control of the flood of information and data coming into your life. There are three aspects to using blogs, podcasts and the RSS feeds that tap into this digital conversation, 3 incentives for building virtual personal learning networks; these are explored briefly below.

1) BLOGS ENABLE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NETWORKS
Anne, a blogging teacher, describes the benefits of a blog-based personal learning network. This type of network—taking advantage of blogs and RSS feeds—allows us to tap into people that we would not otherwise have contact with. In a blog entry, Anne writes about how a librarian's blog—The Shifted Librarian—allows her to learn about a conference she could not attend. She writes, “Those learnings led me to even more learning on the blogs of those who had presented. Talk about professional development.”

Personal learning networks give us access to varied information sources, and, more importantly, to people whom we can ask questions of, provide us with coaching and mentoring, as well as challenge or extend our thinking. In the connected world that we now live in (note that I did not write “going to live in” or in the “21st century”), NOT creating your own personal learning network cuts you off from what you need to survive and thrive in a “flattened world” (as Thomas Friedman describes in his book, The World is Flat). Using RSS feeds, we are able to process a greater amount of information than was previously possible by surfing to different web pages. In a moment, we can get the pulse of conversations, then dig deeper as we need to so as to discover what is of merit.

2) BLOGS ENABLE DIGITAL CONVERSATIONS
At David Warlick's presentation at TechForum TX, one of the presentation slides showed how David was making connections between blogs, building his own personal learning network. For example, he started reading Steve Dembo's blog (Teach42.com), and something mentioned in that blog made him explore another.

Like David, I started out in the same way. I began simply with one or two education-related blogs (e.g. Bud the Teacher and SpeedofCreativity.org) and then added blogs as I went. But adding blog feeds my RSS Aggregator is not what digital conversations are about. It's not enough to read, it's also important to write.

To accomplish that, I started leaving comments relevant to the blog entries posted on other's blogs. As I posted each comment, I included a link back to my personal blog. On my blog, I would expand on the conversation in a way that I only hinted at in the comment. In this way, I invited other bloggers to visit my blog and, in turn, leave comments on my web site. The nature of the comments left on my site has been very helpful. They are helpful because they give me information and advice that I wouldn't have had if I depended on my “traditional” personal learning network. That is, people I interact with every day where I live and work. In a way that email lists could never do—because not everyone can be subscribed to every email list I work on—blogs enable me to learn from strangers.

3) BLOGS FOSTER TRANSPARENCY
Blogs enable us to see what others are thinking—or lack of thinking--as they build a web of connected learning. Most adults automatically protect themselves—although there are ample examples of those who have not—when using virtual spaces like Blogger.com and MySpace.com. It is alright for them to encounter adult content that is considered inappropriate for use in K-12 settings. However, school policy dictates that participating in these adult sites—adult, not because they have XXX content perhaps but because they deal with adult content including pictures—requires approval. Most teachers and administrators who blog are aware of the lines they must not cross. Blogs and podcasts add a level of transparency that only a few are comfortable with. To be honest, some people don't want to make their thinking known to others. Or, sadly, they do not believe their thinking is worthy of being shared.

The art of digital conversation, of building personal learning networks, is more about knowing when we need information, as well as knowing how to identify, locate and evaluate it. And, then, as if that weren't enough, real life forces us to effectively use that information to solve real life problems. In short, blogging can help us—as well as our students—develop information literacy. Are you ready to do blogs in SAISD? Instructional Technology is ready to support you, if you are.

Contact us via email at "mguhlin@saisd.net" or by phone at 527-1400.

Did you know...

As stated in the Career and Technology Education Compliance Review, Office of Civil Rights, Reference Guide, Part III:

“A statement of non-discrimination shall be included on all CATE publications and other materials that are distributed to students, applicants and employees.”

Examples of publications that require inclusion of this statement might include:

· Newspaper articles
· Magazine articles
· Newsletters
· Memoranda
· Bulletins and postings
· Student and employee handbooks
· Course catalogs
· Program/employee application forms
· Written communications (other)
· Employee or student recruitment materials
· Webpages and brochures

Here is the statement to add to all publications:

San Antonio Independent School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, or disability in providing education services, activities, and programs, including vocational programs, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Es norma del Districto Escolar Independiente de San Antonio de no discriminar por motivos de raza, religion, color, origen nacional, sexo o impedimento, en sus programas, servicios o actividades vocacionales, tal como lo require el Título VI de la Ley de Derechos Civiles de 1964, según enmienda; el Título IX de las Enmiendas en la Educación, de 1972, y la Sección 504 de la Ley de Rehabilitación de 1973, según enmienda.

Campus Instructional Technologist (CIT)- Updates

Jill Gernentz, CIT - Collins Garden Elementary
It has been an exciting year at Collins Garden. Our first semester, we purchased ten new desktops and two new laptops to increase access to teachers and students. The new equipment will be used to update our existing lab and provide opportunities for in class instruction. As the Campus Instructional Technologist, I have been encouraging our teachers to use the lab and integrate technology into their lessons. One way I encourage teachers is to have planning sessions with them and follow-up with a “model teach” while integrating technology.

I have worked with 1st -3rd grade classes and in a few weeks will be working with 5th grade.

Below are some of the projects we have collaboratively worked on at Collins garden:

• 1st grade classes used Google Earth technology to deliver a lesson covering communities and maps.

• 2nd grade students utilized blogs to write "I Wish” poems.

• 3rd grade participated in a lesson communities using Power Point and the Smart board with Inspiration graphic organizer software.

• 5th grade will be making travel brochures to highlight living organisms.

Overall, I feel that a rapport has been built through collaboration with teachers. Many of the teachers are beginning to realize that the integration of technology is really something that makes teaching lessons easier for many students to grasp. As the teachers I have worked with start to talk about what has been happening in their classes, more teachers are making a shift to start using technology with their students.

We will be offering more training for the teachers and will continue to work with teachers on integrated lessons. I plan to keep taking as many steps as necessary to bring all teachers and classes up to the desired level of achievement through technology integration.

Cristina Prado, CIT - Madison Elementary
At James Madison Elementary, we participate in a block schedule to allow teachers an additional 45 minutes of planning time per week. During this time, students go to music, counseling, the computer lab, or library. Although there is 45 minutes total, the librarian and the CIT split their assigned classes in half in order to meet with each class twice a month instead of just once a month. The librarian, Mrs. Anna Pilgrim and the CIT, Cristina Prado collaborate on lessons based on the scope and sequence for grades kinder through 5th grade.

The Block Class for 2nd through 5th Grade began the first semester studying and identifying the parts of the computer. Using a web resource, http://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.shtml, we searched for key terms using varied exercises in Little Explorers. We then began our study of the different databases in Digital Knowledge Central (DKC) using an electronic graphic organizer listing the number of results of a topic using key words. Using the same topic and an electronic graphic organizer we proceeded to investigate kid-friendly search engines, such as KidsClick and Yahooligans. Students expanded their research by using graphic organizers to find interesting and unusual facts about their grade level topic. By using DKC, the students were taught to cite their sources on the graphic organizer. Students were given lessons on Kidspiration in order to illustrate the facts they had found during their research. After reviewing a Big6 website, students were introduced to the Big 6 process and given an online quiz. Students were given a Big 6 graphic organizer to begin their independent research on their grade level topic.

Example: Working on endangered animals with upper grades.
Mrs. Prado - Students learn how to use:

• Kidspiration to create graphic organizers to use with their research

• Search engines to find appropriate websites they can use

• United Streaming and Digital Curriculum to view video clips for their research

• Search databases – Facts on File, World Book Online, DKC (Encyclopedia Britannica, NewsBank, Ebsco

Mrs. Pilgrim - Students learn how to:

• List their bibliography and cite their sources

• Utilize the WhiteBoard interactively during lessons

• Search databases – Facts on File, World Book Online, DKC (Encyclopedia Britannica, NewsBank, Ebsco

• Implement the Big6 to help focus on their research

• Make literature connections

During the fall semester, Mrs. Pilgrim and Mrs. Prado worked with over 100 5th grade students in an Internet Drivers Permit Course. This course is designed so that the students will learn about the Internet, District’s Acceptable Use Policy, Searching the Web, Copyright and Citing Sources, and Internet Safety. At the end of the course, the students take an online test in which they must make an 80% or higher to pass the course. Upon passing the test, the students receive their permit which enables them to surf the web on campus. Beginning in April, all second graders on our campus will be taking the Internet Drivers Permit Course.

Overall, I feel the collaboration between the librarian and the CIT proves to be beneficial helping our campus meet the needs of our students. The students are able to take what they have learned from this collaboration back to their classroom and independently do research and make appropriate choices regarding their end product.

Kim Caise, CIT - Maverick Elementary
The 2005-2006 school year has been a year of changes of Maverick Elementary. The first was change occurred when I was hired as the Curriculum Instructional Technologist, CIT. This was a new position for Maverick Elementary and for me. Learning the campus, students and curriculum has proven to be a rewarding challenge.

Maverick is a campus that is dedicated to rigorous and relevant learning brought about by technology. Integrating technology at all levels and curricular areas has been a goal for Maverick and I have been given the opportunity to be an instrumental part of meeting the goal. Maverick purchased two wireless laptop carts last school year and we have put the laptops to much use this school year. Students created spreadsheets using Microsoft Excel, graphs using The Graph Club, tools for learning in PowerPoint, and designed informational brochures using Publisher.

With the implementation of the new website of the District’s content management system came the convenience and ease of posting templates for use with students in the classroom. Software skills and applications can be taught using teacher created templates within the context of an instructional activity and not in isolation. Students learn more, retain more and are excited about a variety of targets for success at school, on TAKS and life as an adult. Without the use of the wireless laptop carts, integrating technology to the depth and degree that Maverick has accomplished would not be possible. Students can expand their knowledge, horizons and worlds without leaving their desks. Blogging and podcasting by students is in the planning stages enabling students to thrive in a digital world with only their imagination as a limitation.

LEGOS:
Here on Earth and beyond

What do LEGOS have to do with rocket science? Learning possibilities that are simply out of this world. And now – thanks to NASA – Earthlings from all parts of the globe can enjoy this innovative lesson plan that originated deep in the heart of Texas.

The product developed for use by SAISD Instructional Technology staff is now available online through NASA’s new Robotics Curriculum Clearinghouse (RCC) recently launched to make high quality learning opportunities available to all educators to share with their own students. Here on planet SAISD the program’s debut was deemed a success faster than master control could count down “three, two, one.” Lift off occurred during the LEGO Robotics Competition for Gifted and Talented 3rd- and 4th-graders who transformed the colorful cube-like bricks into astronauts whose mission was to save our planet from an off-course satellite.

The space crew whose roving robot successfully avoids asteroids, and returned to Earth first with the satellite in tow while making a perfect landing not only were heroes but cosmic competition winners. NASA selects curriculum for RCC based upon its capacity to fuel student
interest in math, science and technology.

To learn more about Robo-Challenge visit:
http://itls.saisd.net/robodemo/

To access NASA’s RCC program go to:
https://robotics.nasa.gov/rcc

The Learning in Hand Project at Graebner Elementary School is in full swing again with a fresh group of fifth graders just as excited as last year’s group.

The classrooms teachers participated in an additional day of training to get ready for the school year with the full support of the principal, Mrs. Correa. Five student experts have been selected from each class to assist teachers in tutoring other students in the use of the Palms.

New software is being purchased that will allow for increased use in graphing for Math Investigations.

Data collection for the elementary science curriculum has taken a step forward. In the past, when teachers and students did any kind of data collection it was a long, sometimes unrewarding process as students would utilize analog devices to measure things like temperature and air pressure and than if they had time, a graph would be created by hand.

The SAISD Science department has worked in coordination with Instructional Technology to train several willing elementary staff members on how to use a portable data collection device known as the “Ecolog”. It can automatically collect data over an extended period of time which can be imported to a desktop with ease.

Once the data is imported, a graph can be created and teachers can begin to ask some of the higher order thinking questions students need to excel on the TAKS assessment.

Communicating with classrooms all over the world has never been easier. EPALS is a free internet resource for connecting classrooms from all over the world.

Classrooms post a profile letting other classrooms know what their interest is. Teachers can contact any of the posted profiles to see if they can work together on some sort of email based activity. Several elementary campus teachers have participated in training to get started in using this free web based resource.

All incoming and outgoing emails are filtered. Please contact ITLS if you wish to have training provided for your staff members.

Meet our new Staff Member

Larry Stegall

Larry Stegall joined our staff on January 3. He has spent the last 20 years in education.

During his career, he has been a classroom teacher, instructional technology facilitator, systems engineer, and the Director of Technology for the Texas School for the Deaf.

Larry and his wife Leslie have 2 sons, David and Christopher. His cat Charlie and dog Wendy remind him to play every day.

Larry's interests include digital photography, filmmaking, and web site development.

Volume 2 - Issue 2 (05/10/2005)

Volume 2 - Issue 1 (09/04/2004)


For current Technology updates,
visit our:

On Monday, January 9th, all summer workshop offerings will be accessible via the Online Professional Learning calendar accessible at the address below:

http://www.saisd.net/online.htm

Claude Ascolese
cascolese@saisd.net

Jim Baldoni
jbaldoni@saisd.net

Miguel Guhlin mguhlin@saisd.net

Sylvia Martinez
smartinez@saisd.net

Tonya Mills
tmills@saisd.net

Greg Rodríguez grodriguez4@saisd.net

Josie Salas
jsalas2@saisd.net

Larry Stegall
lstegall@saisd.net